Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • August 15, 2012 Trusting one’s memory can be lethal in ‘Total Recall’ by Dennis Seuling “Total Recall” is a remake of the 1990 sci-fi film that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. Because of its success, Hollywood decided to dust it off, make a few changes, and present it as a summer action alternative to “The Dark Knight Rises.” Based on the Philip K. Dick novel “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,” the current “Total Recall” is set in a future world comprised of two super-states, the United Federation of Britain and The Colony. The Colony’s inhabitants must travel from their bleak, overcrowded neighborhoods to their factory jobs in the wealthy Federation via the Earth’s only remaining means of longdistance travel: the Fall, a huge elevator/tram that drops through the core of the Earth and deposits its passengers on the other side. The entire journey takes a mere 17 minutes, far better than a daily commute across the George Washington Bridge in 2012. Because life is dull, a company called Rekall offers to provide customers with vivid memories of pleasurable experiences. Colony-dweller Doug Quaid (Colin Farrell), dreaming of a more exciting and glamorous life, ignores the warnings of a coworker and visits Rekall, where he pays for a chemical implant that will give him an artificially induced memory of an exciting past. In the midst of the treatment, however, all hell breaks loose when armed robot police break in and start shooting up the place. Miraculously, and for reasons unknown to him, Doug manages to destroy a pile of these deadly adversaries in breakneck time. How could he do this? Where did he learn the skills? Is this reality, a memory, or a combination? So goes the rest of the movie, an above-average action flick with more than its share of twists and turns. Viewers will notice borrowings from other sci-fi films. The sunless, rain-soaked landscapes are right out of “Blade Runner;” the white-clad robot police are clones of the “Star Wars” stormtroopers; a gravity-less sequence is reminiscent of the hotel corridor sequence in “Inception;” images of the Colony’s occupier, Cohagen (Brian Cranston), appear on giant screens everywhere, in clear homage to “1984;” and the daily drudgery of the workers comes right from Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis.” Farrell plays Quaid as a nondescript Everyman. Farrell’s cinematic stature does not yet match that of brighter lights Tom Cruise or Harrison Ford, and that helps viewers accept Doug as the poor schlub next door who gets himself into a complicated fix. Hitchcock never did sci- Doug Quaid (Colin Farrell) attempts to amp up his routine life by having exciting memories chemically implanted in ‘Total Recall.’ ence fiction, but he would likely enjoy this plot about an innocent who gets involved in an immensely sticky lethal mess and must work his way out of it. The story draws in and holds the audience, and director Len Wiseman keeps the pace brisk and lively with enough action for two pictures. The standout performance in “Total Recall” is from Kate Beckinsale as Doug’s wife, who has an agenda all her own. The role has many intriguing facets, which will not be revealed here. Beckinsale does so much running, fighting, chasing, and shooting that she resembles a computer-generated video game avatar, but gets to convey enough human emotion to keep her character reasonably grounded. The dialogue in Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback’s script is frequently pedestrian. The 1990 version had humor, even campiness tossed in, making it a unique experience. The present “Total Recall” takes itself far more seriously, with tremendous effort and money devoted to elaborate action sequences. These scriptwriters would not win an award for cleverness or sparkle. The production design by Patrick Tatopoulos is striking. The Fall, in particular, is impressive and includes lots of interesting details that make such a contraption plausible. The intercutting of live action and real sets with the computer-generated imagery is smooth, and when the CGI shots are shown, there is always a slightly panning camera movement to make them appear more authentic. Rated PG-13 for violence and language, “Total Recall” is a journey of the mind set in a futuristic time. When compared with other sci-fi movies, it doesn’t rank with the best. As an action film, however, it offers a twohour thrill ride.